Domestic violence a long-term problem with Charleston man, records show

CHARLESTON – A Charleston man has a history of domestic violence going back a decade. That discord, court records show, extends between not only his wife, but also his parents.

On Feb. 23, Jonathan Carter was arrested and charged in Kanawha Magistrate Court on one count of assault, and one count of violating a protective order. The charges, court records show, stem from his alleged attack on a male friend of his estranged wife, Amy, on Monday, Feb. 18.

The attack came in the course of the friend helping Amy to move out of the home she once shared with Jonathan on Pine St. in Charleston. The day of the attack, court records show, charges were pending against Jonathan for three voice-messages he left Amy between Jan. 1 and 3 in violation of a final protective order Kanawha Family Law Judge Mike Kelly granted her on Dec. 19.

After his Feb. 23 arrest, Carter was released from South Central Regional Jail on a $2,500 cash bond. Records show his mother, Dixie, posted the bond on Feb. 25.

Ironically, court records show that Dixie, along with her husband, William, filed protective orders of their own against Jonathan.

According to records on file in Kanawha Magistrate Court, William and Dixie first filed a protective order against their son on April 3, 1996. He was served with papers on April 5 ordering him to appear in court on April 10.

Though he did, William and Dixie didn't. Because of their failure to appear, Kanawha Magistrate Bill Witherell dismissed the case, and assessed William and Dixie $40 in court costs.

About three months later on July 1, Dixie filed a second protective order against Jonathan. Apparently, Dixie made the court appearance as records show Kanawha Magistrate Tim Halloran granted her a 90-day protective order against Jonathan on July 9.

Court records show William would a protective order of his own nearly 10 years later. The petition he filed was not against Jonathan, but against Amy.

According to court records, William petitioned the magistrate court for a protective order against his daughter-in-law on Jan. 12, 2007. Though records are unclear as to which magistrate issued the order, it was, nevertheless, granted, and set to expire on April 19, 2007.

Both William and Amy jointly pressed charges against Jonathan from an incident that occurred a week prior to Christmas 2003. That case in Putnam Magistrate Court is still open, records show.

According to court records, Amy and Jonathan got into an argument at William and Dixie's residence in Hometown on Dec. 18, 2003. In the complaint he filed with Putnam Magistrate Kim Blair, Sheriff's Deputy A.J. Craigo said Jonathan "tried to choke her [Amy] with his hands around her throat even though she is pregnant."

In the course of the argument, Jonathan threw Amy to the floor, and jumped on her. However, records show, William pulled him off.

After getting up, Amy ran into the bathroom and locked herself inside, records show. Though he briefly departed the house, Jonathan returned, pushing his father aside and yelling at Amy though the locked door.

According to Craigo's report, Jonathan "threatened to kill her when he saw her again." Shortly after that, and prior to Craigo's arrival, Jonathan fled the scene on foot.

After Amy was taken to the hospital, Craigo filed his complaint with Blair. Finding probable cause, she charged Jonathan with two counts of domestic battery, one on Amy, and the other on William.

Though it is not immediately clear as to why, but Jonathan was never arrested on the charges. Court records show the case was placed in an inactive status on Feb. 10, 2005.

A notation in the file says, "This case may be 'reactivated' at any time upon service of a summons or an arrest warrant."